Pak vs Ban: Bangladesh adds Kamrul Islam, Parvez Hossain to squad for final T20

DHAKA: After their second consecutive defeat and losing the T20 series to Pakistan, host Bangladesh has decided to launch two uncapped players, pacer Kamrul Islam Rabbi and batter Parvez Hossain Emon in the third and final fixture of the Alesha Holdings T20 international series.

The final T20 match of the series is scheduled to be played at Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium on November 22. Bangladesh is down 2-0 in the series.

With stellar performances from Pakistani bowlers Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr and Shadab Khan, who did not allow the Bangladeshi batters any leeway, especially in the first two overs, the Men in Green have won the first two matches.

Pakistan restricted Bangladesh to a below-par 127 as they could hit merely three boundaries and seven sixes in both matches. The slower run rate also incurred a penalty for the hosts from the International Cricket Council (ICC).

However, the pacing attack of the hosts gave the home crowd some joy as they squeezed Pakistan to 24 for 4 in the power play.

In front of a roaring home crowd, Bangladesh did not allow Pakistan a walkover as Mustafizur Rahman worked wonders early on by castling Rizwan. Babar Azam, Haider Ali and Shoaib Malik also succumbed to the magic of the Bangladeshi pace. Fakhar Zaman and Khushdil Shah took up the responsibility to do the needful by hitting 34 runs apiece. Shadab and Nawaz later accomplished the task.

Following a dismal performance in the ICC's Twenty20 World Cup, Bangladesh continued to play on the same lines. Their first boundary came in the sixth over as they hobbled to 40/4 in the first ten overs. The Bangladeshi middle order provided some relief to the home crowd as they scored 87 of the final ten.

Bangladeshi batters got a little salvation in each final over by Nawaz, Shadab, Wasim, Hasan and Haris Rauf who let go of 15, 13, 12, 11 and 15 respectively. These last overs by the five Pakistani bowlers collectively handed the hosts 66 runs, compared with 61 runs in the first three overs by these bowlers.